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Why spend a lot on a belt? All belts look the same to me.

clockwise

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Originally Posted by Equus Leather
Personally I think Australian Nut and Oxblood go quite well together, if that helps
wink.gif


Charlie


Thanks, it helps a bit. I got a pair of J.M. Weston's in "burgundy" on order. I seem to not really know what difference, if any, there are between Australian Nut, Oxblood and Burgundy. Anyone here knows or I need to start a new thread?
 

Equus Leather

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Originally Posted by clockwise
Thanks, it helps a bit. I got a pair of J.M. Weston's in "burgundy" on order. I seem to not really know what difference, if any, there are between Australian Nut, Oxblood and Burgundy. Anyone here knows or I need to start a new thread?

I've always found that the colours are different across different makers, though it may be more that they are different across different tanneries.

Australian Nut is I think quite well defined as it is very old. It still varies, but it has more brown than red. I describe it as milk chocolate + some red sometimes. The other two are in the more red than brown category. I have had one or two requests for burgundy leather before to match shoes (which we dont stock) so some obviously dont feel AN and Burgundy are very close.

I can take a photo of something made in Australian Nut next to some old Jones corrected grain brogues in Oxblood if that helps?

Charlie
 

clockwise

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Originally Posted by Equus Leather
I've always found that the colours are different across different makers, though it may be more that they are different across different tanneries.

Australian Nut is I think quite well defined as it is very old. It still varies, but it has more brown than red. I describe it as milk chocolate + some red sometimes. The other two are in the more red than brown category. I have had one or two requests for burgundy leather before to match shoes (which we dont stock) so some obviously dont feel AN and Burgundy are very close.

I can take a photo of something made in Australian Nut next to some old Jones corrected grain brogues in Oxblood if that helps?

Charlie


A picture which directly compares some nuance of oxblood with the AN will be nice of course! From your website pictures I see the AN as similar to burgundy or oxblood.

In any case, whether it goes well with my incoming shoes or not, I stick with my colour choice for the belt.
 

Equus Leather

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Originally Posted by clockwise
A picture which directly compares some nuance of oxblood with the AN will be nice of course! From your website pictures I see the AN as similar to burgundy or oxblood.

In any case, whether it goes well with my incoming shoes or not, I stick with my colour choice for the belt.


It is certainly of the same family. Oxblood is deeper and redder is the main difference. Hopefully the photos below show the difference a bit, they're not very good, but the colors are fairly represented I think. The shoes are tatty corrected grain Oxblood and the shoulder bag is Australian Nut.

DSC_0819.jpg


DSC_0814.jpg
 

Icehawk

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It's not just the strap but the buckle too - a good belt will use a real metal buckle of brass, silver, etc - but most cheaper ones are just plated pot metal. I do have one nice old belt that can't be too expensive (bought it like 14yrs ago in HS at AE I think) but it is a solid brass buckled, unlined belt which I haven't seen many of while looking for belts recently. Most of the cheap ones are lined/laminated and in my experience those fall apart quickly.

A good strap isn't too expensive, $50-100, but then add in the cost of a decent buckle and it's hard to find one under $100 IMO.

Funny the anti-designer rant that came up since most the SF members appear to prefer brands that use no logos and/or are little known to the general public.
 

Made in California

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Originally Posted by RowRow
Thanks for the compliment. If anything russian gang members are some of the most respected members of society in Eastern Europe. I'd be happy if someone associated me with it. I guess it's different for the pussified america.

Gangsters are glorified here in the US through movies, rap culture, etc., I had the impression it was more than anywhere else. Gangsters are looked down upon because they do extremely detrimental things to society like push drugs, force businesses to shut down, and kill people that oppose them. In Russia specifically, organizations like RBN openly engage in hosting child pron sites. I have a hard time seeing how you can take being associated with that as a compliment, you know it's more than just steak and cigars bought with stolen microwaves.
 

Wupper

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I have a dark brown €29 casual leather belt from H&M which I bought in the mid 90s and I wear pretty often. It looks better the older it gets and seems to last forever.
 

jhva3

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I bought a Cole Haan belt that had a brass-looking buckle. I say brass-looking because the coating soon wore off the top of it and the leather part quickly started to look like **** as well. It was about $80 which I thought was pretty expensive for a regular belt. Would not buy again.
 

VictorC

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I think some items of clothing are overated and to spend so much on a belt is an indulgence i would say.

I bought a brown and a black belt for £10 from british home stores and they do the job.
 

OttoSkadelig

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Originally Posted by Wupper
I have a dark brown €29 casual leather belt from H&M which I bought in the mid 90s and I wear pretty often. It looks better the older it gets and seems to last forever.

yep -- i've also found a terrific second life for my budget belts that really puts to good use all of that graceful ageing of the leather and the velvety texture that forms over time (but only those less than 1" wide, mind you)...

1231777922_sm_2_1215116217fghghj.JPEG
 

mike540

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I've found the differences between belts to be fairly dramatic. Whether anyone but the wearer notices them is doubtfull but that can be said about much of what we wear and discuss here. We all appreciate quality so why should belts be any different. Below are some of my pre and post SF purchases
left to right:
Pierre Cardin ~$20, leather? is stiff, buckle is flimsy plated
Florshiem ~$50 better leather, still a cheap buckle, sloppy stitching
Allen Edmonds ~$100 nice supple leather, decent stitching, solid brass buckle
Canali $200+ gorgeous supple leather, heavy solid brass screw on buckle, excellent stitching, beautifully finished
belts3.jpg

belts.jpg


I can't say I've ever received any feedback one way or the other on my belt in real life but it just seems incongruous to me to wear other quality pieces and be let down by such a simple thing as a belt.
 

clockwise

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Originally Posted by mike540
I've found the differences between belts to be fairly dramatic. Whether anyone but the wearer notices them is doubtfull but that can be said about much of what we wear and discuss here. We all appreciate quality so why should belts be any different. Below are some of my pre and post SF purchases
left to right:
Pierre Cardin ~$20, leather? is stiff, buckle is flimsy plated
Florshiem ~$50 better leather, still a cheap buckle, sloppy stitching
Allen Edmonds ~$100 nice supple leather, decent stitching, solid brass buckle
Canali $200+ gorgeous supple leather, heavy solid brass screw on buckle, excellent stitching, beautifully finished

I can't say I've ever received any feedback one way or the other on my belt in real life but it just seems incongruous to me to wear other quality pieces and be let down by such a simple thing as a belt.


You manage to make an excellent point by showing real examples.
thumbs-up.gif
When I earlier in this thread stated that I would never buy a belt as "cheap" as $100, I exaggerated. I didn't really mean to say that all $100 belts would be subpar quality.

The idea that belts don't get any better after the $20 Banana Republic "plateau" can however only be propagated by those who never owned or experienced a belt with "gorgeous supple leather, heavy solid brass screw on buckle, excellent stitching, beautifully finished".

Like you, I don't expect to get feedback on the quality of my belt "in real life". With the obvious exception of the odd Russian belt collecting gangster.
 

Wupper

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Originally Posted by OttoSkadelig
yep -- i've also found a terrific second life for my budget belts that really puts to good use all of that graceful ageing of the leather and the velvety texture that forms over time (but only those less than 1" wide, mind you)...

1231777922_sm_2_1215116217fghghj.JPEG


I envy you.
 

Timeless Fashion

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Originally Posted by Equus Leather
I've always found that the colours are different across different makers, though it may be more that they are different across different tanneries.

Australian Nut is I think quite well defined as it is very old. It still varies, but it has more brown than red. I describe it as milk chocolate + some red sometimes. The other two are in the more red than brown category. I have had one or two requests for burgundy leather before to match shoes (which we dont stock) so some obviously dont feel AN and Burgundy are very close.

I can take a photo of something made in Australian Nut next to some old Jones corrected grain brogues in Oxblood if that helps?

Charlie


How much do you charge for shipping to the US for your belts?
 

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